Easy Call - My "Myerchin Lightknife Crew Pro" It's very similar to a Spyderco, but only $46 http://www.myerchin.com/L377P.html and the best part is both the serrated knife and the Marlin Spike both lock. Every have a spike fold back on your fingers while applying maximum pressure?

A Marlin Spike you say? "If you knew how to tie proper knots, you would never need a Marlin Spike!" Really, how about last night, when I crawled underneath my new-used Bravo to change the length of the hiking pad straps. 6yr old boat, straps never moved - spike was the only way to break them free; and it was conveniently clipped/tethered to my left PFD pocket, the pocket with two small flares and an acr light (right pocket holds radio).

The great Sufi mystic Rumi effectively says we can choose love or fear - I choose to be prepared and go sailing at night on the FL inter-coastal (blows 8-10 nearly every night; almost as good as Corpus Christi's 12-14 every afternoon).

I have a carabiner made by Kershaw, it has 1 fold out blade that is part straight and part serrated, also a philips and straight blade drivers. I hang it from the center lacing on the tramp. I also keep a blunt point straight blade in a sheath on my jackets latch tab

I picked up a really slick West Marine branded stainless steel leatherman like combo tool that includes a great set of articulated pliers, a shackle tool, a strong serrated blade, etc., but the thing I really liked about this one is the marlin spike.

It was NOT cheap and took a while for me to justify it, but I am very, very glad I have it. It's rock solid and it's so convenient to have all that I need in one place.

I'm looking for some knives also. I'm thinking that when I'm in the water unconscious and my crew needs to cut me free, I don't want her/him to have to deal with a folding knife. It also doesn't need to be a multi-tool; I can provide that separately. I want a safety knife.

APS has quite a selection and I like the very first one (NRS co-pilot) for its simplicity. Any thoughts on this concept?

I'm looking for some knives also. I'm thinking that when I'm in the water unconscious and my crew needs to cut me free, I don't want her/him to have to deal with a folding knife. It also doesn't need to be a multi-tool; I can provide that separately. I want a safety knife.

APS has quite a selection and I like the very first one (NRS co-pilot) for its simplicity. Any thoughts on this concept?

Benchmade makes a diving oriented knife. I own several Benchmades, and they are fantastic knives. I carry one every day in my pocket. I don't have any experience with this knife, but it's steel is engineered to be rust proof. The blunt edge is so you don't accidentally stab yourself.

Boye apparently makes a nice fixed blade knife geared for sailing. It's made of cobalt which is supposed to never rust and take a fine edge. They aren't cheap, however.

Let me know what you end up deciding if you find a knife you like. I haven't invested in a dedicated sailing knife yet. I'm looking for a folder, though.

It seems as if this subject was bound to be asked eventually (if it hasn't already in the past . I currently have a Benchmade on a carabiner hanging from my tramp. It's a lower (griptilian I think) model with an Americanized tanto tip (I'd prefer a clip point or drop point but it was a gift). I prefer for all my knives to be half serrated since I believe it is more versatile. Now that being said, a marine knife was historically one with a marlin spike built in. Someone posted one with a locking spike which I think I will think about purchasing in the future(Myerchin Lightknife Crew Pro). I would not get any knife without a lock of some sort (Benchmade is the self proclaimed strongest lock in the industry, and I for one believe them) b/c the knife can fold over on your fingers (my swiss army knife did it all the time as a kid). My brother has a Model 710 McHenry & Williams by Benchmade and I think that could be the best knife I've EVER used/seen. But it's a bit pricey (almost $200). I have an early Smith and Wesson that is really solid but the later ones I've seen are terrible (I think they had a company design them and produced them for a short time, then outsourced them to China).

On Leathermans, I say they are the best multi-tool ever devised. Gerber multi-tools suck. My grandfather uses his multi-tool on a regular basis (many times a day) and he broke two Gerbers in about 3 months. Then he went back to Leatherman and he's been happy ever since (although he does wear them out about every 2-3 years also, using them for things they weren't designed for). I carry a Leatherman squirt in my pocket everyday and I've have 4 other different Leatherman multi-tools. I had a Leatherman original, lost it, bought another original version 2, found the first, wanted a larger Supertool, had that for about 5 years, wore it out (it still works I just chewed up the cutters cutting HUGE wire and broke the phillips screwdriver off trying to pry with it), then bought another Supertool 300 and I've had it ever since. Several friends of mine have the Wave and like it a lot for the one handed knife opening feature. If I get another one I will get a Surge (larger Heavy Duty Wave). There is a lanyard ring built into every Wave and Surge. But they are heavy. Leathermans are ok for shackles but the pliers chew up the shackles if you're not careful. Frankly a claw hammer or better yet a adjustable wrench is probably better for shackles.

If you plan on getting a fixed blade knife just be certain you get a really solid sheath. I've hear stories of people buying knives with cheap sheaths and the knife pokes through the sheath and can hurt someone. Although it doesn't really feel great on your belt the plastic/kydex/polymer sheaths are very safe. Otherwise a very stiff leather is vital in my opinion.

My next purchase will be a Hobie tool I think for the shackles and the rudders. I too have had to use the main sheet to pop the rudder cams loose and it is generally not very fun.